Continuous magnetic furnace.



No. 821,752. PATENTED MAY 29, 1906. H. G. SHAW.

CONTINUOUS MAGNETIC FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.8.1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR. H.626haur ATTORN evs.

PATENTED MAY 29, 1906.

- H. G. SHAW. CONTINUOUS MAGNETIC FURNACE.

A IIIIIIIIIIIIIII PR.8.1905.

a ssssssssss ET 2.

INVENTOR V Ji- C. Shall/j PATENTED MAY 29, 1906.

H. C. SHAW. CONTINUOUS MAGNETIC FURNACE.

AiPLIGATION FILED APB.8. 1905.

a SHEBTFSHBBT 3.

wn-uassss.

INVENTO R JHLCSIIGIU;

HENRY (J. SHAW, OF GLENSHAW, PENNSYLVANIA.

CONTINUOUS MAGNETIC FURNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented May 29, 1906.

Application filed April 8, 1905. Serial No. 254,598.

1'0 (LU w/wm, it Tnwy concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY O. SHAW, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, residing at Glenshaw, county of Allegheny, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered new and useful Improvements in Continuous Magnetic Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to continuous furnaces, especially those ada ted for heating metal sheets or plates, but a so applicable to metal in other forms.

It is the object of my invention to provide a furnace in which sheets of iron or steel may be passed gradually through the same, sothat when they have finished their travel therein they will be sufliciently heated for subsequent treatment-as rolling, for example.

The chief characteristic of my invention lies in the principle by which the sheets are caused to travel in the furnace. I employ magnetic force or attraction to carry the sheets along and believe that in so doing I have made a valuable advance in the art to which my invention relates.

My invention also comprises other features which will be pointed out hereinafter.

Referring to the drawings, which form a part of the specification, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of my invention, parts being shown in elevation; Fig. 2, a vertical section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 Fig. 3, a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 4; Fig. 4, a lan, partly broken away; Fig. 5, a partial ont elevation; Fig. ,6, an elevation of the rear portion of the feeding-screw; Fig. 7, a detail of the gearin connecting the shaft of a feedingscrew to t e device for presenting sheets to the screw, and Fig. 8 an elevation showing the door 38.

On the drawings, 1 represents in its entirety a furnace having the chamber 2 heated in any desired manner, the heat preferably advancing oppositely to the direction in which the sheets travel; but the details of the heating means do not have anything to do with the resent applicatio Exten ing longitudinally through the upper portion of the chamber 2 are the two screws 3, which are of magnetizable material and 1preferably hollow and are journaled at the ont and reiyof-the furnace. These screws are extem ed pole-pieces of the electromagnets 4, located at the rear end of the l furnace and supported on the foundation 5, which, together with the plate 6 between the ma nets and the furnace, may be watercoo ed, if necessary, to protect the magnets. The ends of the screws 3 are journaled in the housings or standard 7 at the rear of the furnace and in the brackets 8 at the'front thereof. To the rear ends of the screws are fixed the worm-wheels 9, meshing with the Worms 10. on the shaft 11, which is driven, through the gear-wheels 12, by the motor 13. The forward ends of the screws have screwed into them the bronze extensions 14, which interrupt the magnetism and are the forward j ourna s of the screws and are seated in the aforesaid brackets 8. These extensions carry the worms 15 meshing with the worm-wheels 16 on the shaft 17 journaled in the brackets 18. The shaft 17 carries the crank 19, which actuates the pitman 20, connected pivotally to the arm 21 on the rock-shaft 22 below the sheet-feeding mouth 23 of the furnace. The shaft 22 carries the fly or sheet-feeder 24, having the sheet-rest or shoulder 25 near its lower edge to support the sheets so as to present'them at the roper height to the feeding-screws 3, as Wil i be explained. The stroke of the fly may be adjusted by securing the pitman at the proper place in the slot 26 in the arm'21.

The screws 3 and the forward and rear extensions 14 and 14 thereof are hollow. The extensions 14 receive the pipes 27, connected to the supply-pipe 28, and the exten-, sions 14 receive the pipes 29, connected to the outlet-pipe 30, which discharges into the hopper 31.

Within the hollows of the screws 3 and the extensions 14 are the rods 32, somewhat of a less diameter than that of the inside of the screws and their extensions, the rods being provided with the preferablyspiral groove 33.

Running horizontall below the screws 3 and along each side 0 the furnace 1 is the water-cooled ipe 34, which acts as a guide to,hold the p ates or sheets 35 beneath the screws 3.

The rear ends of the screws have their threads. of gradually'less depth until they disappear, as shown on Fi 6.

The rear end of the furnace-floor is preferably inclined, as shown in Fig. 1, to form the chute 36 and the pocket 37, into which the sheets fall when sufliciently heated. A vertically-slid able door 38 at one side of the-furnace opens and closes the pocket 37. This door is operated by chains 39 or their equivalent, secured to the drums on the shaft 4] The door is cmmterweighted by theweight 42, l suspended by a cable or the like on the drum 43 on the said shaft 41. t

The operation is as follows: The furnace is heated in any desired manner to the proper degree, the water circulation begun through 1 the screws 3 and the pipes 34, the electromagnets 4 energized, and the motor 13 started, causing the screws to rotate in such a manner as to cause the threads to appear to be running toward the rear end of the furnace and the fly 24 to alternately move to the mouth 23 of the furnace and back to the position shown in Fig. 1. A metal sheet is placed on the fly 24 with its lower edge on the shoulder 25. The fly then swings the sheet up into the mouth 23 against the threads of the screws 3, which being magnetized attract and hold the sheet against them. As the screws rotate the threads receive the upper edge of the sheet and feed it toward the rear of the furnace. A second sheet is fed to the screws in a similar manner when the first has advanced sufficiently to permit it. Sheets are continually fed into the mouth 23, so that there is a series of plates attached to the two screws 3 and progressing toward the rear of the furnace, absorbing heat as the sheets advance. When the sheets reach a certain temperature, indicated by a bright red heat, they lose their magnetic property. I aim to arrange the chute 36 and pocket 37 so that the sheets will become so heated when they reach the vicinity of the chute and pocket that they will automatically drop; but if they should not drop automatically their detachment from the screws could be readily brought about by any competent mechanic or by hand-tools. The runnin water in the screws 3 keeps them so cool t iat they will not part with their magnetism. The rotation of the screws rotates the rods 32, causing them to keep the'interior of the screws clean, the spiral 33 urging the sediment toward the outlet 30. The rods, 32, which are of iron, materially increase the magnetic attraction of the screws on the sheets 35. The sheets 35 become armatures of the polepieces (the screws 3 and the rods 32) of the magnets 4, and thus furnish an iron return for the lines of magnetic force, and so increasing the power of the magnets to hold the sheets. The sheets having their edges in the threads of the screws have their contact with the pole-pieces increased, and the parts of the sheets nearest the center of the screws receive a greater attraction than other portions and are nearer the cooling medium, which aids to hold the sheets to the screws. I have the threads at the rear ends of the screws taper out, as shown in Fig. 6, in order to cause the plates to drop when they arrive there, though they will likely drop earlier. As the sheets ride out of the threads they lose the protection of the sides of the threads, they are farther from the water in the screws, and their magnetism is reduced. They will also at this point be powerfully heated by the heat reflected from the rear wall of the chamber 2. The place where the sheets will be dropped depends on the temperature and rate of flow of water through the screws, the temperature of the chamber 2, rate of rotation of the screws 3, the strength of the magnets 4, the amount of metal being heated in the chamber, and other factors entering into the construction and operation of the furnace and associated mechanism. The sheets may be detached at any place by obstructing the threads at that place.

My invention may be used in connection with ovens or other heating-chambers or for the purpose of conveying magnetic material for any purpose whether in connection with furnaces or not.

I do not restrict my invention to the details shown and described, as I believe I am entitled to all fair equivalents whatever the specific structure of the apparatus.

Having described my mvenion, I claim- 1. In a furnace, oven or the like, a magnet, and means for moving the same so as to advance relatively to the magnet magnetic material within its influence into or through the furnace, oven or the like.

In a furnace, oven or the like, a magnet and means for causing magnetic material within its influence to travel therealong.

3. In a furnace, oven or the like, a screw, means for magnetizing the screw, and means for rotating the same, whereby magnetic material between the threads thereof may be advanced along the said screw.

4. In a furnace, oven or the like, a hollow screw, means for admitting a cooling fluid to the interior of the screw, and means for magnetizing and rotating the screw, whereby magnetic material between the threads thereof may be advanced along the sa d screw.

5. In a furnace, oven or the l1ke,ahollow screw, means within the screw for preventing the deposition of foreign matter, means for admitting a cooling fluid to the nterior of the screw, and means for magnetla ng and rotating the screw, whereby magnetic mate rial between the threads thereof may be advanced along the said-screw.

6. In a furnace, oven or the like, a hollow screw, magnetic material movable within the same, means for admitting a cooling fluid to the interor of the screw, and means for magnetizing and rotating the screw, whereby magnetic material between the threads thereof may be advanced along the said screw.

7. In a furnace, oven or the like, a hollow screw, a grooved rod rotatable within the same, means for admitting a cooling fluid to the interior of the screw, and means for magnetizing and rotating the screw, whereby magnetic material between the threads thereof may be advanced along the said screw.

8. In a heating-chamber, a conveyer, and means for causing a temporary connection between said con'veyer and articles to be heated in said chamber and for causing said articles to travel relatively to said conveyer, the

Signed at Pittsburg this 9th day of March, 1905. Y

HENRY O. SHAW. Witnesses F. N. BARBER,

SUZAMER S. BEATTY 

